Hopeless Romance
by Safety-In-Shadows
Summary: Grell is always in search of love, and when the chance to spend the rest of eternity with William arises she is quick to take it. However, what happens when the joy she feels turns to fear and she begins to change? Will she find herself being exactly as she's always wanted to be, or will she become what she never believed she could be? (Starts with Grelliam but eventual Sebagrell)


In the London branch of the Grim Reaper Dispatch Association it seemed to be quite the normal day; everything was typical London grey and all the reapers were going about their days as they always did. Souls were being reaped, paperwork filed, and scythes repaired like they were every day, nothing was happening that could change the eternal lives that they all lead. Inside the grand building sat one particular reaper, one who stood out in bright crimson amongst the never ending sea of black, white, and grays; Grell Sutcliff. She sat at her desk in her office surrounded by paper work as usual; thoughts running everywhere like they always did, trying to keep herself entertained.

Grell Sutcliff, a well known collections officer with the London Dispatch. With a small, thin frame and bright crimson hair she could not be over looked by anyone, even without her fiery personality. She was known for getting into trouble, avoiding her paperwork, and being a shameless flirt; needless to say she was handful for any office to handle and leaving her to own devices was never a very good idea.

Grell sighed pleasantly as she sat stirring her tea. Her good mood was flaming like her heart today, ready to envelop everyone in the vicinity within its warmth. Things just felt so…perfect; work was enjoyable as ever, William actually hadn't completely rejected her affections for him today, for once she was on top of her paperwork, and nothing could ruin it. It had been a long time since everything had been this good for her. Normally she was getting into some kind of trouble or least behind in her work, but as of late everything was working out splendidly. She had some papers she still needed to go through, but it wasn't as big of a load as she usually had to deal with. She had a feeling that things were going to go quite well for her today.

She looked down at her tea to see if her sugar had dissolved into the amber liquid yet; it hadn't so she continued to stir as she started to read over her papers for the day. No field work for her to do today; pity. She hadn't taken her special scythe out in a long while and now she was starting to get angsty; besides field work always had the pleasant chance of a run in with Sebastian. Just sitting behind a desk all day with no one else to keep her company didn't suit her very well; all the energy she had pent up needed to be released somehow. She sighed before lazily dropping the paperwork onto her desk, maybe a quick walk would help her focus.

Her signature heels gave off sharp clicks and she swayed down the halls to the dispatch break room. The room was simple and minimalistic as the rest of the dispatch seemed to be, but at least there was always the option of good company inside of it. As she swung the door open she had to laugh quietly; once again Ronald had fallen asleep in break room. The younger reaper was snoring softly, completely unaware of the drool at the edge of his mouth or his superior trying not to burst out laughing at him. _Well, I should probably wake him before Will finds him._ Still smirking she walked up to and gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

"Come now Ronnie, sleeping during office hours isn't the best idea."

Ronald stirred and managed to turn his head but didn't wake up. Grell sighed and placed a hand on her hip, Ronald was going to be difficult today. She reached out and shook him again with a little more force but all her efforts earned her was a snort and snore from the junior reaper. A gloved hand reached up to rub her temple as she realized this was going to be much harder than she anticipated, though for a moment she thought she might leave him to sleep and be discovered by William later. However she decided to show mercy on her favorite junior and grabbed a hold of his hair before getting close to his face and ordering,

"Ronald Knox, you will wake up this instant or I swear I will take my death scythe and ram it so far up your arse you won't be able to walk for a month!" With that Ronald quickly opened his eyes, and looked around in a disoriented daze.

"Huuuuuh wha's goin' on?" Ronald yawned and yanked his hair out of Grell's hand before reaching up to rub the spot she had been pulling.

"You fell asleep again Ronnie, really it's the middle of the day dear. You're just lucky that I found you before Will did, you and I both know he would have been far less kind to a sleeping junior like you than I was."

Ronald stretched his arms up above his head nodding to his superior as he did so. Grell had a deep fondness for the junior; he was like a little brother to her. Though she wouldn't hesitate to admit that he was good looking enough to give her some less than familial thoughts about him on occasion, especially with the rumors she heard from the girls down in general affairs. However she knew that at the end of the day, he was family to her, and she made a point to look out for him when she could.

"Wha-what time is it Grell? I hope I didn't sleep through anything important or Spears'll kick my arse."

"It's only a quarter to two darling, you should be fine unless you have something going on that you've neglected to tell me about."

"Only two? Well that's not too bad, and no there's nothing' I haven't told ya' 'bout," Ronald answered her finally standing up from the table. He kicked the chair he had been occupying back against the table nonchalantly as he strode over to place his wrist over Grell's shoulder. She rolled her eyes as the taller reaper leaned against her as if she was his personal armrest, Ronald could be a right prat sometimes.

"Well at least I can count myself lucky as one of the few ladies you actually tell the truth to Ronnie, now if you don't mind I'm not your armrest," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she gave him a hard elbow to his side.

"Oi! Now that 'urts Grell, besides 's not my fault that you're the perfect height!"

"Ronald, you do not treat a lady like furniture unless you want to have something that you find to be precious ripped from your groin, keep that in mind."

Ronald put his hands up in surrender and smiled at Grell when she placed a hand on her hip; he knew that his superior meant well, but it was always best not to test her, she wasn't exactly famous for her patience. In fact he had been on the receiving end of her real anger before, it was not a pleasant experience and it was one that he never hoped to repeat.

Grell rolled her eyes at Ronald again before giving him a gentle punch in the arm. She knew that his joking was all in good fun, but sometimes she wondered how he hadn't gotten himself on the bad side of the all the girls in General Affairs. Then again, she knew that his good looks could get him out of a lot when he needed them to; that one thing both of them had in common actually.

"What're you even doin' in the break room? Shouldn't you be doin' some work too? Or are you hidin' from Spears again?" Ronald asked her, classic smirk gracing his face.

"Now now Ronnie, I've been working pretty diligently all day, unlike you; I think a lady deserves a break every once in a while."

Grell smiled at him and went to retrieve a glass of water. Filling her glass to the brim she downed it quickly, giving a relieved sigh as the cool liquid washed down her throat. She turned back to Ronald, leaning back against the break room countertop. _Ronnie how are you even allowed to be so cute?_ She thought to herself watching as he ran his fingers through his two toned hair.

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to have any field work today that you need assistance on? I'm simply dying to get out of the office, and besides you know I'm deadly efficient in the field; we'd be done in no time at all."

Ronald turned to look at his superior with his hand still in his hair. He knew she just wanted to get out, and if he told her he had a couple field jobs today she'd be sure to come along. It wasn't that he didn't like working his friendly superior; it was just that she tended to take things to an extreme level when they were working together. Ronald knew he wasn't the most diligent employee, but he still liked to keep at least some of the rules intact when he went out reaping.

"Uhh 'm not sure ta' be honest, I'll have to check my files but I don't think I have anything goin' on today."

Grell shrugged her shoulders in nonchalance, maybe it was just a slow day for everyone today. She wanted so badly to get out of the office and do some reaping, but if there was no opportunity then she couldn't do it without getting into more trouble with Will. Then again getting some attention from Will didn't sound all that bad either.

"Very well Ronnie but if you happen to find anything that you'd like to have a lady's company on do give me a ring. Ta-ta!" She declared exiting the break room and turning as she waved at the junior.

Grell smiled to herself as she made her way back to her desk, pausing to give a polite hello whenever it was needed. As she rounded the corner to go back to her desk she stopped dead in her tracks; William was standing in front of her desk. _Dammit, Will is probably going to drill me about my paper work again _she thought to herself watching as the dark haired reaper straightened the papers on her desk. _I hope he hasn't been there long, if he hasn't I can at least pretend that I wasn't gone very long; unless he's planning on spanking me in his office I don't feel like getting into trouble today _she mused, flashing a perverted grin to herself as she took a deep breath and walked forward to her desk; all the while doing her best to move her hips as seductively as was possible.

"William darling, trying to sneak a peek at a lady's personal things are we?"

William straightened up and turned to look at her, hands still on her paper work. He was as proper looking as he always was, dressed in perfect reaper attire and ever present frown on his lips. Grell tried to suppress a pleasant shiver as Will turned his cold eyes on her; she loved how intense his eyes were, like green flames that threatened to engulf her. She had been trying to catch his eyes for years, but he seemed to do his best not to fall for her; however she was sure it was only a matter of time before he was drawn in.

"Sutcliff, it is improper for you to be taking a break when you still have this much paperwork to work through. If you don't have this done quickly you'll be looking at unpaid overtime."

"Will that's not fair! I've been doing so well lately, and it's still early-ish I have plenty of time to finish everything," Grell replied to him, folding her arms and sticking her bottom lip out in a red pout. She jutted her hips out just the tiniest bit, trying to make herself appear at least a little more feminine; if she could distract Will just a little maybe she could get out of getting into trouble for the day.

"I still doubt that, you're far from my best worker Sutcliff and I have yet to see any proof that you are capable of anything more than flirtation."

"Humph. Ah! I've got it! I'll make you a deal Will, if I can get all my paper work done before it's time for me to clock out, you'll go out with me for dinner tonight, unless of course you were already planning on taking me out," she offered trying to stifle a giggle.

William seemed to consider what she meant before shaking his head at her and replying, "Honestly you never do give up Grell; and if you don't get it done? Besides your dining alone what do you think should happen to you? I'm not going to just let you go with nothing."

"You really are a gluttonous sadist William, though I must admit it's a bit attractive," she said wiggling her eyebrow at him suggestively. When he didn't look impressed she rolled her eyes before shrugging and continuing.

"Okay fine, the real question here is what do you want from me if I can't do it? Besides I know you'll just double whatever I say anyway."

Will pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he searched through his thoughts for some kind of punishment that would be appropriate for Grell.

"You might be right, but I think a scythe demotion and a pay cut would suffice if you can't complete your task."

"A Demotion _and_ A Pay Cut! You can't be serious, that's not even close to fair Will!"  
"Well if you want that "date" of yours then you'll find a way won't you? Now get back to work if you want to meet your goal," Will replied to her outrage with a ghost of a smirk on his face, turning away to return to his own office.

Grell had to fight the urge to rip up all the papers plaguing her desk; there was no work if there were no papers after all. William might be handsome and manly, but he could be a right git at times. He really was a sadist when it came to work, always trying to make each employee work twice as hard for half the pay, and all the while demanding nothing less than perfection from them. She often wondered how the quiet average boy from their academy days had turned into the William that was cold as ice and as hot as the sun at the same time. Even so he didn't need to be so cruel; she just wanted a dinner date with him.

Never mind the date right now though; her death scythe was on the line! Grell had only just gotten her favorite toy back, she wasn't about to lose it again. Grumbling to herself she pulled her chair from her desk and sat down to start working through the mountain of paperwork in front of her. It was five past two and she was scheduled to clock out by 6, she needed to be done by at least 5:45 to appease Will. If she wasn't so worried about losing her death scythe again she knew it would be easier, but worry made her sloppy and she couldn't afford to be right now.

She grabbed a handful of papers and placed them in front of her, eyes scanning of them to make a guess of how long each one would take. _Dammit Will, with how much stress you just put on me I'll be lucky if I can get this done on time. Oh well, I'd better start now if I want to come out on top…_ she chided herself scooting closer to her desk. She looked up to check the time once more before taking a deep breath and burying herself in her paperwork.

She worked diligently for hours on end, even skipped her assigned break pausing only to check the time on occasion. Slowly the pile of papers in the front of her turned to separate disheveled piles of paper; it might have looked chaotic but she knew she was making her way to the end of the work in front of her, the pile of unfinished work growing smaller and smaller. She wanted to just hurry through but she knew she had to pay close attention to each paper; William wouldn't be fair and would demote her if she made any mistakes, claiming that because they weren't properly filed she wasn't actually "done".

She wouldn't let him stake her on a technicality; she made sure that she read over everything meticulously before writing on any of it. She made sure to double check each and every paper before putting it in the appropriate pile. A light sweat was starting to break out on her brow from the stress of trying to finish on time; she wiped it away not caring about make up that smeared on her gloved hand. _I'm so close to being done, this last one and I'll be free! Ha take that Will, I told you I was capable, besides I think you'll be singing a different tune after tonight's date._ She thought to herself as her eyes scanned over the last paper and her brow furrowed in concentration. She read over it a second time, making sure she understood every word of the document before she grabbed her pen once more and signed her name at the bottom of the document.

She let out a triumphant sigh before leaning back in her desk chair and letting her entire body relax for a moment. She was finished, she had finished every single ounce of paper work she had been given. As soon as she opened her eyes and they immediately shot for the clock; finishing everything was worth nothing if it wasn't done on time. _Please please let me be on time, I can't lose this one._ She thought looking at the clock, _5:43 I did it! With 2 minutes to spare! Ha Take THAT Will!_

With a large toothed grin on her face she got up from her chair and started to stack her misshapen hills of paper into proper little piles before stacking them all in her hands and turning to make her way towards William's office. She held all the papers tightly in her hands, still nervous with anticipation, if Will was fair for once in his life she would be safe and finally get a date with him. As she made it up to the door she turned and tried to push the door open with her hip; locked. She sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance, _William why do you insist on locking yourself away? It just makes life harder for the rest of us in those rare moments when we actually need you, git._

She tried to steady her pile of papers by holding them to her chest under her chin as she lifted a leather clad hand to knock rapidly on Will's door. When he didn't answer right away she tried jiggling his door knob as if she could force it to unlock if she annoyed it enough. She pushed her hips against the door, almost crashing to the floor when William finally opened it.

"I heard you; there was no need to be so rash. Now what do you want?"

"I did it; I finished everything before the end of my shift Will. Sooo our little wager says that if I finished all of my day's paperwork before I'm scheduled to clock out you'd got for dinner with me tonight and I wouldn't get a demotion or a pay-cut," She said stepping inside and place her pile of papers neatly on Williams desk before leaning against it.

William followed her to his desk and stepped behind it and pulled out his chair to sit down and face her pile of papers. He pinched the bridge of his nose before pulling the pile closer to him and picking up the first set of paper.

"Very well, we'll see who comes out on top of this little wager then shall we? You may sit while you wait."

Grell didn't feel like waiting but she couldn't argue with him either; she gave a small huff and crossed her arms before sitting in one of the chairs in front of William's desk. She watched him from the corner of her eyes as he adjusted his glasses and set to looking over her stack of papers.

It wasn't long before she started fidgeting; she never could keep still for very long when it was so quiet. She hated to silence that covered the office like a heavy fog. William never seemed to make a single sound when he was working, unless of course he was reprimanding her about something, but even then it was always quick. As she sat in his chair wiggling around he paused a moment and glanced up at her; she immediately stopped, she couldn't do anything that might jeopardize her chances of winning this wager. With a quiet sigh she straightened up and sat still, watching as he flipped through her papers.

When he finally reached the last one he looked it over and then set it atop the pile. Without a word he stood up from his desk and straightened her paperwork neatly before walking over to her. Grell's breath caught in her throat, was his silence a good or negative sign? She couldn't tell. She stood up eagerly as he moved in front of her; she tried to stop herself from wringing her hands in anticipation but she still managed to wring her fingertips around each other. She heard William let out a deep sigh and she gripped her hands together tightly, waiting for him to finally speak.

"Well it looks like you've won this one Grell."

"Now look Will maybe they weren't the best looking- wait what?"

"Oh honestly! I just told you, you've won this wager; it looks as if you'll be keeping your position and I'll be taking you to dinner tonight."

Grell was too shocked to speak for a moment; but as realization crept over her she broke into a large toothed grin. She took in a deep breath before squee-ing in excitement and leaping forward to throw her arms around William who put his hand up in protest.

"I told you I could do it! Now then what time shall we set our date for Darling?"

"8 o'clock sharp, you will meet me outside of my flat and I shall take you on your _date_."

"It sounds perfect Will, I promise I'll be there, but then again what lady could turn down dinner with a man like you?" She purred, hugging herself with joy since William had made his disdain for her embrace very obvious.

"Just don't be late Grell," William said waving her out the door and adjusting his glasses once more.

She followed his hand and made her way to doorway before turning back to wink at him and retorting, "I wouldn't dream of it Darling, but you really best make sure you're ready, I'm a lady you can never forget."

William simply rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, turning away and muttering to himself "Honestly."

With that Grell left his office, spring in her step and smile on her face. _8 tonight, we'll let's see; it's 6:13; that gives me a little over an hour and a half to get ready. Hmmm that's not much time at all to get "date" ready._ She mused to herself, stopping by her desk to grab a few of her things as she walked down the dispatch hallway. _Oh well, any lady worth her salt can find a way to look gorgeous for a good looking man, this won't be too hard. Besides tonight everything is going to change; I can feel it._

She took the appropriate moments to pause and say goodbye to her coworkers who had overtime or were just starting their shift; however she didn't stay as long as she normally would have, instead she gave her greetings and goodbyes as quickly as she could and set straight for the front entrance of the dispatch. As she reached the doors, she paused and looked back behind her smiling the soft kind of smile that can only come from personal triumph, before she pushed the doors open and walked out into the fading light. She finally left the dispatch behind her and made her way back to her own flat; to get ready for her date and dream of what it could bring to her in her future.


End file.
